The Lions hit on two defensive playmakers in the 2022 draft, selecting edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson with the second overall pick and safety Kerby Joseph in the third round.
Both players are extension-eligible as they enter the fourth year of their rookie contracts, and Detroit is determined to lock them down for the long-term. Neither will be cheap.
Hutchinson racked up 7.5 sacks in his first five games last season before suffering a brutal leg injury that sidelined him for the rest of the season. He was on pace to break the NFL’s single-season sack record and an early frontrunner for Defensive Player of the Year before he went down. Hutchinson was trying to return to the field if the Lions made the Super Bowl , but their divisional round loss to the Commanders ended any chance of a comeback last season. He is expected to participate in offseason workouts in the next few months, per Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press . Barring any setbacks, Hutchinson should ready for Week 1 of the 2025 season.
Despite the injury, Hutchinson’s value has only gone up in recent months with Maxx Crosby and Myles Garrett signing lucrative extensions . Garrett reached $40MM per year on his deal , which could be surpassed by Micah Parsons ‘ extension with the Cowboys .
Lions general manager Brad Holmes acknowledged the exploding market for premier edge rushers during league meetings in Florida.
“We had it in that range, kind of already, when we do our future planning and budgeting,” he said (via Justin Rogers of Detroit Football Network ). “But then obviously, when it goes up, it just goes up, and that’s just what you gotta prepare for. I don’t know what it’ll end up being. That’s the difficult part about our job, but we work really hard in terms of the prediction forecasting of that market. He’s just one of many that we’ve had to budget.”
Hutchinson is already one of the league’s premier pass rushers at just 24 years old. He could push for the highest APY of any non-quarterback, in which case the Lions would be wise to get the deal done quickly. Hutchinson has a $11.4MM cap hit in 2025 with a $20.9MM fifth-year option that the team is expected to pick up, per OverTheCap . Even if Hutchinson eclipses $40MM per year on his extension, his contract will grow more affordable with time due to increases in the salary cap and the edge rusher market.
Joseph will similarly be looking to take advantage of a strong 2024 and a rising safety market. He led the NFL with nine interceptions last season and 17 since 2022. Antoine Winfield reset the safety market last offseason with a $21.025MM APY, but Joseph may also consider a massive increase in cornerback pay as he negotiates his extension .
“He’s a player that we want to keep and, you know, we’ve let that be known,” said Holmes of Joseph, per Rogers. “He’s a fit for us, for our team. He’s a really good player, but in terms of the timing, you know, we’ll just kind of see where it goes.”
Joseph owed a $3.6MM salary in 2025 after reaching the second level of the NFL’s Proven Performance Escalator, per OverTheCap . An extension could reduce his 2025 cap hit by $2.04MM.